Google Fakes a YouTube Shut Down in Early April Fools' Gag

Google, which owns Youtube, is considering a plan to sell cablelike services via the Internet.

Google, getting a headstart on the annual tradition of April Fools' pranks, released a YouTube clip on Sunday declaring that the world's most popular video website will shut down at the stroke of midnight.

The three-minute video intended as a gag - a montage of clips and cameos from viral video stars like David Devore from "David after the dentist" - describes how the website will wind down as some 30,000 technicians begin to trawl through 150,000 clips, to select the world's best video.

"Gangnam Style has the same chance of winning as a video with 40 views of a man feeding bread to a duck," YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar pronounced, referring to the viral sensation from Korean pop artist PSY that's now the most-viewed video on the site.

Google's video also features intense discussions between judges, who hotly debate the merits of everything from Citizen Kane to "epic skateboard fail".